Page 60 - EDUCON 2022 Book of Abstracts

21. Villet, C & Pomoti, H., Using Learner Assessment Data (LAD)
for Educational Planning in Namibia
Background: DNEA is responsible for national administration of the
examinations and assessments in the school system, they developed
the National Standardised Achievement Tests (NSATs) and
administers the NSATs nationally to all learners in Grade 5 and 7.
Thus, DNEA is responsible for production, analysis of NSAT learning
data as well as dissemination of the learning data to the regional level,
while the regional directorates of education disseminate learning data
to the schools.
Aim: The main purpose of this study was to explore how the MoEAC
in Namibia uses LAD in different phases of the planning cycle, and to
what extent such educational planning was constructively informed by
this data. Further, this generates context-specific knowledge about the
use of LAD to inform national actors, produce specific
recommendations to improve practices when using LAD in different
phases of the education sector planning cycle and engage in and foster
partnerships with national actors responsible for the ESP to improve
the use of LAD.
Methodology: The research used a combined approach of both
primary and secondary information sources. Primary data was
generated from semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions
with key stakeholders and direct observations. Secondary data sources
were generated from a content analysis of documents available at the
national level. The combined use of primary and secondary
information allowed for a triangulation of information sources and
increased the overall consistency of the analysis.
Results: The findings revealed that Namibia does not have a
comprehensive national assessment policy that defines the purpose,
the use of LAD, the data dissemination strategy and how the learning
assessments link to other different assessments. NSAT data analysis is

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